Appleby Frodingham Railway Preservation Society

Hi all,

1990 was the 100th Aniversary of steelmaking in Scunthorpe , and every department on the site was asked to do something to commemorate this event.

The rail traffic department decided to run 5 railtours in the March on the aniversary week for invited guests , using a steam loco borrowed from the Rutland railway museum and a coach borrowed from the vintage carriages trust on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

In the first year the traffic department ran over 100 tours , mostly for local people

Towards the end of 1990 the members of the rail traffic department who had been running the tours , asked if there was any possibility of running the tours in the following year and the works director Gerry Gorman suggested that some sort of group should be formed to run the railtours . In the September of 1990 the AFRPS was formed.

Since the formation of the society over 25 years ago, we have acquired a range of locomotives and rolling stock, most of which can be seen at the shed on tours.

We run two types of tours around the steelworks site, a carriage tour, which consists of a former driving and centre car of a class 108 DMU, which takes you on a roughly 7 mile trip to take in the sites of the works. There is also the brake van tour, which consists of two ex-BR brake vans and a Shark brake van (Which has been recently restored) which take you on a roughly 15 mile tour to the places the carriages won't fit. As the tours run around a working site, no two take the same route as we fit around the steelworks' own trains taking everything from molten iron to finished rail, it's a unique experience for all the family.

Tour dates can be found at www.afrps.co.uk (the dates will be updated shortly).

More information about the current projects at the Shed will be posted shortly

Having made two visits I think it is well worth the effort to get on one of their tours.

A few pictures would help to promote the society's activities.

Gordon A

Bristol

I've been several time, fist on the normal tours for the public, then by hiring our own brake van specials for a group of friends (including accidently organising DEMU's first steam train! ) - its great!

Jon

Winter brake van tours, are 10/10.

Just make sure you get well covered up (unless you want to stay in inside, all the tour)

On  one occasion, our train even did a bit of shunting , to release 1 of the big Hunslets.

Got loads of photos of the place.

Me too. Worth mentioning that the longer tours are four or more hours, so not for small children, and that they are free.

The works now has, unless I'm mistaken, a class 20 and a class 07?

Here's a shot on one of the 1990 tours: the four queens.

I don't want to be a kill-joy as these trips are indeed spectacular and not to be missed but please note this message on the society's website and consider whether posting photographs  here (other than those officially sanctioned)  is helpful or not. In my view, the impact of the awesome scale of this plant is diluted in photographs anyway.

(I don't think the photo of the 4 Queens is a problem as these can be seen from the public highway).

Kind regards,

Paul

TATA Steel Photography Policy

It is TATA Steels policy that no photography is allowed on the Scunthorpe site except at the Society's loco shed and our railway platform

As we are guests of TATA steel on the Scunthorpe site , we ask that you respect that policy

Me too. Worth mentioning that the longer tours are four or more hours, so not for small children, and that they are free.

 

The works now has, unless I'm mistaken, a class 20 and a class 07?

 

Here's a shot on one of the 1990 tours: the four queens.

 

Diesels 70's and 80's447.jpg

The steelworks has 3 class 20's, no.81, 82, 83 (D8110 which is officially in preservation with us)

The class 07 (07012) is part of the AFRPS collection, owned by a member

We appreciate donations at the end of the tours to help cover maintenance and the running costs of the tours.

Many thanks,

Jordan

Regarding photography, that one was taken in the early 90's, maybe even 1990, we were taken from Scunthorpe station wrong line by a class 20 onto the works, where a huge Hunslet took over.

No mention as made of photography, or any restrictions, everyone had camera(s).

Maybe changed now? H&S?

No, not H&S, companies these days just guard their operational confidentiality. They are not keen on images of their operations and plant, over which they have no control, being widely shared. They may reveal information and practices to competitors and others they'd rather keep to themselves, they may appear to show other things which might be misconstrued to the companies detriment. It's a policy many large companies share.

Regarding photography, that one was taken in the early 90's, maybe even 1990, we were taken from Scunthorpe station wrong line by a class 20 onto the works, where a huge Hunslet took over.

No mention as made of photography, or any restrictions, everyone had camera(s).

 

Maybe changed now? H&S?

I can't recall when the rules came into place, but in 1990 they definitely weren't.

It's been a slow night at the shed tonight, with only the cab floor of Arnold Machin being cleaned and it's windows removed. Arnie has been completely stripped down, with the engine, generator and traction motor all removed.

Here are a couple of photos of the well known YEC Janus

YEC Janus No.1,

Our shed while in operation with the steelworks

Many thanks,

Jordan

And inside the shed, (1990):

And inside the shed, (1990):

 

Diesels 70's and 80's444.jpg

Diesels 70's and 80's445.jpg

That's great to see a picture of no.44 and no.51, both still hard at work at Scunthorpe, although now carrying TATA STEEL high visibility livery. But very few external differences between them then and now other than new marker lights and an abundance of led lights all over the locos. No.44 was until recently, mostly used as the Scunthorpe plate mill shunter.

Many thanks,

Jordan

Any news on how production cuts by Tata may affect rail operations & the society?

 

Dava

The rail operations on site are not massively affected as there is still so much transported by rail although there is now an abundance of plate wagons in sidings.

The society has not been affected as of yet but with a possible take over of the steelworks, who knows what the future holds. Hopefully, many more tours.

Many thanks,

Jordan

Nice to see Janus  No1, looking a lot better.

it was a few years ago (on our tour), that they where shunting it in to the shed,

Can i also ask how the shell, at that time, of the class 03 , is coming along.

Nice to see Janus No1, looking a lot better.

it was a few years ago (on our tour), that they where shunting it in to the shed,

Can i also ask how the shell, at that time, of the class 03 , is coming along.

Janus No.1 is now the main locomotive of the society, it is regularly used for shunting the shed.

The 03, 03901, is now very nearly finished. Only the vacuum brakes require attention. It has now been re-engined with a cummins power plant which is the reason for the renumbering. It is now externally finished, in a nice black livery. It was used on the tour on Saturday.

Many thanks,

Jordan

When is the 07 used? Is it accessible for photos at all? I've bean to a certain preserved line in Derbyshire TWICE to get photos of an 07 in close up for a 7mm scale model, got refused access both times, despite having made arrangements the second time. 170 mile round trip. In a 400+ bhp Impreza........

BTW: the two locos in my inside the shed photo look different?

When is the 07 used? Is it accessible for photos at all? I've bean to a certain preserved line in Derbyshire TWICE to get photos of an 07 in close up for a 7mm scale model, got refused access both times, despite having made arrangements the second time. 170 mile round trip. In a 400+ bhp Impreza........

 

BTW: the two locos in my inside the shed photo look different?

The two locos in the shed are identical, it's just that they have two different styles of wasp stripes and one is more faded than the other.

Regarding the 07, it is used very little as only one regular member has been allowed to drive it by the owner, but it is accessible as it is parked in the shed which is open on tour days, I'll find out the next public tour date for you.

Regards

Jordan

Thanks. Is it photographable?

Also, the two I'm talking about are parked one on front of the other...the rear one has different handrails, and an apparently different cabside

Thanks. Is it photographable?

 

Also, the two I'm talking about are parked one on front of the other...the rear one has different handrails, and an apparently different cabside

The cabsides are the same but the handrails seem to have the lower rail at different heights, I'll have to try and look at the two now amd see if they are still different.

Regarding the 07, I'm sure if you can give me sufficient notice that you are coming, we could shunt it out into the yard for you to photograph, but I'll have to see. But you can take photographs of it in the shed, and I can accompany you into the cab for more reference material if you wish.

Regards

Jordan

That would be excellent, thanks. I have an F1.4 lens that will almost take pics in the dark, and the cab photos would be very useful too. I also have a decent flash, but it needs batteries........always......

I'll have a look at the timetable of tours and get back to you.

The cabsides are the same....

 

I don't think that they are Jordan, have a look at the fourth photo down on this page,

http://www.blueplastictracks.com/archive/index.php/thread-221-2.html

It clearly has an inward taper to the upper part of the cab, the same as the one at the rear of Jeff's photo whereas the front loco has the more usual flat sides. Possibly an App Frod modification to improve clearances?

Hi all,

The cabsides are modifications to allow the locos to fit within the mills.

Regards

Jordan

Hi all,

The next tour is a brake van tour on Saturday the 6th of February. Book through the Brigg tourist board, more details to follow

Regards

Jordan